Brady stuns Barty in Brisbane, Pliskova through

It was a tough beginning into the new season for Barty. First, great bushfire emerged in Australia as many players including Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios and also Ashleigh Barty promised to donate money. Barty said, she would donate her prize money from Brisbane, but she lost already in the second round.

As a first seeded player, Barty did not have to play the first round. However, in the second round, she faced Jennifer Brady who defeated Maria Sharapova in the first round. Brady was successful also against the Aussie and so she outplayed 2 current or former world number 1's in 3 days.

On the other hand, Barty's challenger for the no.1 spot, Karolina Pliskova was successful against Ajla Tomljanovic when she defeated her after more than 2 hours 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, Pliskova will meet Riske and can get closer to Barty in the WTA Ranking after the tournament.

After defeating world number one, Brady said: "I'm very happy to get the win. Ash is obviously a great player and a great person. It's a little bit surreal. I'm super stoked and I'm shaking a little bit, but I really played well today. The last two times I played her, she was pretty dominant. I think today, I knew what to expect and I was hoping not to lose three times in a row. She's obviously very solid and reads the game so well. I was fortunate enough to win a lot of free points on my serve and hold throughout the match."

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